Chicken Spinach Pasta Recipe

A Special Small Town Restaurant Dish Packed with Everyday Nutrients In One Meal

Chicken spinach pasta recipe is not only a copycat recipe, but also a nutrient packed meal that you are going to make this forever.

Total Time: 33-40 Minutes
Prep Time: 8-10 Minutes  
Active Cook Time: 25-30 Minutes  
Serving: 4-6

Driving into town looking for an Italian restaurant sitting in downtown Amsterdam, NY, which has been in business for over 100 years, as claimed on their website, you most likely can easily miss it because there is something catching your attention. That's right. First thing you may see is a car right on top of a high and abandoned chimney.

I rarely go to the same restaurant more than once. It is mainly because I always love to try something new in the new environment. I get inspired easily by going to different places and trying different dishes. However, Russo's Grill is one of those that we visited more than once because my husband and my mother-in-law love this place.

Chicken Michael is one of the pasta dishes that this locally owned restaurant listed on their menu. I went to heaven and back to earth after the first bite. So, when we went back the second time, I couldn't resist to order it again. Although there were some differences in both of my experiences, I still like this dish a lot. As you know, remaking restaurant dishes is one of my favorite things to do. So, that was how this chicken spinach pasta recipe developed.

Last time when we were here, it was Oct 2022. When we got the bill at the end of our dinner, it said that if we pay by credit card, there will be 3% additional charge. This info is not made aware of at the time of order. So, if you happen to visit this place, bring cash or be ready for paying extra.

(Side note: Amsterdam NY is a small town. If you happen to come by, between late May and end of July is the best time for baseball fans. There is a collegiate baseball team here that they won over 10 championship of Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL). Over 100 players throughout the years became MLB players in both major and minor leagues. It's a very affordable family event to attend. Highly recommended.)

TIPS & TRICKS

Canned or Fresh Mushrooms

The first time when I had this chicken spinach pasta recipe in the restaurant, they did use fresh mushrooms. But when I went back home to develop this recipe, I found that canned mushrooms would save me plenty of time. Funny when I went back to enjoy this dish again in the restaurant, they did use canned one this time. So, you can use either. If you like everything start from scratch, use fresh ones. Just bear in mind that it will take about 8-10 minutes to brown the mushrooms which is using extra time to get dinner on the table.

Fresh or Frozen Broccoli?

This recipe calls for fresh broccoli because that was what the restaurant used in this dish. So, I tried to stick to the original and did it. To make your cooking process go faster, blanching the fresh broccoli before cooking the pasta will help significantly. It only needs to add the broccoli florets into the boiling water for less than a minute and take them out. Then, put the vegetable aside while you are cooking the rest of the pasta dish. During this process, the vegetable will continue its cooking process. When you add the vegetables back into the pot to do the final assembly of the dish, it only takes time to warm it up instead of cooking it.

Can you use frozen broccoli? Yes, absolutely. As you know that I used to despise frozen vegetables, I can't live without them nowadays. If you choose to use the frozen ones for this chicken spinach pasta recipe, forget the steps of blanching fresh broccoli. Do it in this way:

1. Before pouring the cooked pasta through the strainer, add a pound of frozen broccoli into that empty strainer.
2. Purposefully, pour pasta and pasta water through that strainer.
3. The hot water will thaw the frozen broccoli during this process and the hot pasta will keep them warm at the moment while you assemble everything together to finish this pasta dish.

Fresh or Frozen Spinach?

Fresh spinach has a very short shelf life. So, you are more than welcome to use frozen spinach. Make sure you will squeeze out all the extra liquid out of the thawed spinach before adding it into this chicken spinach pasta recipe. Click here to check out the easiest and most effective way to do so.

Is the White Wine Really Necessary?

When I first saw this dish on the restuarant menu, it did mention that it uses some kind of white wine. So, I purposefully went to a liquor store to get a bottle. Unfortunately, I got the wrong kind. But if you go to the restaurant website today, you may not see it mentioning anywhere. So, wine is not a must in this pasta dish. I must admit that it gave a touch of fruity flavor. Here is a couple alternatives you can replace the original ingredient:

1. White grape juice - The carbonated one may be lighter in flavor that I will highly recommend. But regular white grape juice is ok. You may want to cut down the quantity into half cup to try it out first. Or, water it down a little bit.
2. Chicken broth - This most likely is your pantry staple already. By all means, please feel free to use this.

No matter which ingredient you are going to choose for the sauce, please bear in mind that this chicken spinach pasta recipe is not saucy. The light sauce enhances the flavor. So, go easy on the liquid side.

Chicken Spinach Pasta Recipe and Instructions

Ingredients
1 lb Broccoli Head (cut into florets)
1 bag (5oz) Fresh Spinach
2 cans (4 oz each) Button Mushrooms (drained)
2 tbsp Minced Garlic
2 (6-8 oz each, cut into halves lengthwise) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 lb Linguine or Fettuccine
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup White Wine
2 cups (14-oz can) Chicken Broth
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (divided)
3 tbsp Butter (divided)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to boil, add 1 tbsp salt and broccoli to blanch for less than a minute. Use a slotted spoon to take broccoli out and put it aside for now.
2. Add pasta into that same pot of boiling water; stir a couple minutes, let it cook until al dente; drained.
3. While pasta is cooking, preheat a big skillet at medium high heat with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 tbsp butter.
4. In a separate plate, combine 1/2 cup of flour, salt and pepper together and dredge chicken in flour mixture, shake off the excess.
5. Transfer chicken into the skillet and cook about 4-6 minutes each side.
6. Take chicken out of pan and whisk in about 1 tbsp of flour (you most likely have leftover from the dredging). Then add wine to deglaze the skillet; stir in broth. Once the glaze starts to thicken up, add 2 tbsp of butter; salt and pepper to taste.
7. Transfer chicken back into the same skillet and let the meat cook in the glaze for a bit in low heat.
8. Use the pasta pot to finish up this dish, after draining the pasta, add 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, garlic and broccoli to sauté for 2 minutes.
9. Stir in spinach, it will wilt pretty quick.
10. Stir in mushrooms; salt and pepper to taste.
11. Add pasta into the vegetables and mix well.
12. Transfer pasta to serving plate first; then add chicken and glaze. Garnish with dry parsley flakes (optional)
13. Enjoy immediately.

Chicken Spinach Pasta Recipe Steps with Photos

5 ingredients + 1 optional ingredient to make this delicious pasta dish

Blanch broccoli and take the vegetables out. Put it aside.

Use the same pot of boiling water to cook pasta until al dente

Cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into halves

Butterflied chicken breasts

Mix flour, salt and pepper for coating chicken

Dredge chicken in flour mixture

Dredge chicken in flour mixture for both sides

Cook chicken in a separate skillet while waiting for pasta

Use the same skillet that was used for cooking chicken, add flour into the grease

Whisk to combine flour and grease to make roux

All liquids into the roux and whisk until smooth and thick

Transfer chicken back into the skillet and cook in the sauce

After straining the pasta, sauté broccoli in that same pot

Add fresh spinach into the pot of broccoli

Stir to combine. Spinach should wilt almost immediately.

Stir in mushrooms

Add pasta and vegetable mixture on serving plate; top it with chicken and sauce. ENJOY!

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